


Wish

by IamDiana



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-04 18:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12174393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IamDiana/pseuds/IamDiana
Summary: He gasped awake, his lungs squeezing, his throat dry. He was staring up at the ceiling of the room in Veld. Beneath him was the soft padding of the mattress. He turned his head to the side as he tried to slow his breathing. Diana reached up to caress his cheek with the backs of her fingers, a gentle smile on her face.“You’re safe Steve, it was just a dream” she told him and moved closer so she was pressed tight to his body.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> -We all know in our souls that Flash pulls Steve out of that plane! But this little gem was quite insistent in my mind, so I wrote it anyway!  
> -"When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out" Elizabeth Bowen

“Diana, I have to go!”  
“What are you saying? Steve, whatever it is, I can do it. Let me do it!”  
“No, it has to be me. It has to be me. I can save today, you can save the world!” He glances back at the plane. The boys have taken out all the ground soldiers, but the engines have started. He has to go now if he’s going to make it!  
“I wish we had more time.” And he does, with every fiber of his being. He wants it more than he’s ever wanted anything in his life. But they both have missions to complete, they each have a purpose greater than themselves.  
He presses his watch into her hands.  
“I love you!” he says, and then he is running...

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

His heart would be racing if it were still in his chest. But he left it down there on the runway, in the eyes of the only woman he ever loved. He’d give anything for just five more minutes, to tell her, to make sure she heard and understood. The look of incomprehension on her face was a kick to the gut. And he’s sure she didn’t understand why he gave her the watch. She would never have let him go if she’d realized he was going to die. But she didn’t, wouldn’t until it was too late to help him. His only comfort is that he knows the guys will tell her what it meant that he passed the watch on to her. She would know that he had loved her, and that he had passed his most precious possession onto her as a symbol of that love.

After settling into the pilot’s chair he glanced back. The Germans were wearing those ridiculous packs on their backs. They had intended to jump from the ill-fated plane. For a split second he considered this, but tamped down that hope. The spark from the gun firing would be the only way to ignite the gas. He could not fire from outside the plane, and even if he fired from the open doorway, the blast and the gas would spread so far so quickly he still wouldn’t survive. He turned to his task. Hearing another explosion he checked over his shoulder. The base was engulfed in flames, had been rocked by the blast. He laughed - the guys had blown that hangar to kingdom come! Or had that been Diana? She had been in a blast too, and made it out okay! Well, okay may have been a bit of a stretch, but she was alive. Alive and fighting an ancient Greek God! Fear turned the hole in his chest to a block of ice. But he remembered her words on the boat - “only an Amazon can defeat him, with this” - she could do it, she had the sword, she had the skills. She would succeed. He had to believe that.

He could feel the air thinning, and cooling, knew he was high enough. His thoughts strayed, grasping at straws, whispering temptations. He pulled his gun, took aim, breathed deep, prayed for God to help Diana win, to keep her safe, to give him strength to pull the trigger - and then he did.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He gasped awake, his lungs squeezing, his throat dry. He was staring up at the ceiling of the room in Veld. Beneath him was the soft padding of the mattress. He turned his head to the side as he tried to slow his breathing. Diana reached up to caress his cheek with the backs of her fingers, a gentle smile on her face.

“You’re safe Steve, it was just a dream” she told him and moved closer so she was pressed tight to his body.

“Diana, are you okay? What happened? Where are we?” If he was dead and Diana was here, then either she had died too, or this was the best kind of heaven possible.

“Of course I am okay, and you are too. We are still in Veld, it is early. You have time.”

He could not comprehend this turn of events. He was supposed to be dead right now. “Diana I...I…”

“What is it Steve?” her face growing more concerned by the minute. 

Oh well, she seemed to have a firm handle on the incomprehensible, and she could hardly call him crazy after everything she had been telling him. He took a chance. “I think I’m confused. I’m supposed to be dead! I just...well, I don’t know Diana, but, I’ve lived this day already. I woke up this morning here with you, found a uniform, we went to the gala, I told you not to come but you did anyway, it didn’t matter, Ludendorff sent gas bombs into the village, everyone died, you killed Ludendorff and when the war didn’t stop you gave up. The boys and I went on, to try to stop the gas, then we saw you fighting Ares! Then, I flew the plane with the gas bombs and blew it up. Then I woke up here, just now, back at the beginning! How is that even possible? Am I actually dead? Is this heaven?”

He had been looking anywhere but her face, but now he looked. She was still, almost statue still, eyes fixed but misty. She stayed that way for a long moment, then cocked her head to the side “Steve. Are you certain?”

“How can I be? Either it was a dream, and I definitely don’t think it was. Or I’m dead, which makes sense because if I went to heaven, you would absolutely be there. Well, not the real you, cause I wouldn’t want you to die, but…”

“You are not dead. I am the real me. You either had a prophetic dream, or you were sent back to the beginning of this day.” She reached out and circled his wrist with hers and pulled his hand up to tuck under her chin. “Why would you blow up the plane Steve?”

“I had to. They were going to send it to London. It was full of bombs, it would have killed thousands of people. We couldn’t ground it because there was a timer, the gas was going to explode somewhere. The only way to keep it away from people was to take it up as high as possible and detonate it.” He was slightly shaking. Facing one’s own death so certainly was quite an experience. Despite all the close calls, and all the dangerous missions he’d been on, he’d never looked it so closely in the face before. His breathing still wasn’t even.

“Steve…” tears spilled from Diana’s eyes and she reached to pull him in for a hug. She held on so tight he wondered if he’d bruise, not that he cared. He was finally starting to believe that he was, somehow, alive. Bruises from her arms as she held him would be more than welcome!

He held onto her for a long moment, burying his face in her neck and just breathing. But soon he pulled back and took her face in his hands “We have to change it Diana. We can save this village, and we can stop that plane. C’mon, I have an idea”

They got out of the bed and starting finding their clothes, and armour, on the floor. They hadn’t bothered getting dressed last night. She of course was dressed far quicker than he was, having much less to put on. When he was dressed, he turned to look at her. She was standing, in full armour, staring down at her headband like she was looking through it. “Diana?”

She didn’t turn or look at him and when she spoke it was with the same sadness he’d heard on the tower after she killed Ludendorff. “I had never seen anyone die before the Germans came to the beach. I don’t think I really understood it in that moment. But I do now. I know what it feels like to lose Antiope, and even though I wear her head piece to honour her, and she will never truly leave me, I miss her every day.” She turned her eyes to him then “I have known you for such a short time, but I feel as though you are a part of me. I cannot imagine what it would feel like to lose you too”

He closed the distance between them and rested his forehead on hers, taking her face in his hands. “Diana, I’m so sorry for everything you’ve lost. I wish you didn’t have to lose any more, and I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure that you don’t. But somethings are out of our control, and there’s something I should have told you last night. I wanted to, but, I was...I don’t know, it doesn’t matter. I want you to know, right now, that I love you Diana. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone in my life, and I want to live, I want to live with you. And if that’s not possible, I at least want you know how I feel, and that I want you to have that. I want you to be happy, even if I can’t be there to see it. But I promise you that I will try!”

She throws her arms around him, kisses him softly and says “Steve, I love you too”

They stare in each other's eyes a moment longer, then disentangle themselves. She puts the head piece on and pulls on her cloak and they head outside to meet the guys.


	2. Chapter 2

“You want some help looking for a uniform?” Sammy offers as soon as he sees Steve. He smiles and gives a little nod to Diana, but does not otherwise comment on their obvious impropriety. 

“No. Plans have changed. We need to evacuate the village, as quickly as possible” Steve crosses his fingers that they can pull this off.

“What? Why?” Sammy asks, looking back and forth between Steve and Diana.

“It’s a long story. Diana, can you please speak to the villagers, ask them to go as quickly as possible to nearest town. It should only be a couple miles, they can make that walk in a couple hours. Chief, I need your bomb making skills!” Diana and Sammy begin talking to the villagers as Chief and Charlie gather around Steve. 

“What are you thinking?” Chief asks

“I need a bomb, nothing big or fancy, but with a timer!”

“A timer! Well, I appreciate your faith Steve, but timers like that aren’t just sprouting from the ground!”

“Damn! Do you think we could find one back at the trenches?” 

“It’s worth a look” Chief doesn’t sound entirely convinced.

Steve finds Diana helping a family pack up some belongings in a cart. “Chief and I are going back to the trenches for a bit. Need to try to find some supplies.”

Sammy overhears “Mind if I tag along boss? You might need some help!” 

Charlie looks down at his hands, now carrying a basket overflowing with food, instead of the rifle. “Maybe I’m better off stayin’ behind and helpin’ these folks clear outta here.”

“Of course Charlie! We need someone to sing for us while we pack” Diana assures him with a smile. Steve could just kiss her right now she’s so wonderful!

“Alright, we’ll be back as soon as we can!”

Steve, Chief and Sammy head off toward the trenches. “So, you gonna tell us why this sudden change in plans Steve?” Sammy asks. So Steve tells them the whole story about the gala, the gas, the plane. Then waking up this morning. Chief believes him without hesitation. Sammy is a bit more incredulous, but after Chief’s dream about drinking with the Tsar after this war, well it’s not exactly a foreign concept!

They make good time to the trench, it’s not that far from Veld luckily. As they approach, several of the soldiers crane their necks, looking behind the trio. Looking for Diana. They climb down the ladders and ask one particularly awe struck boy for the Commander. He points them to the left and they approach a middle aged man with an impressive mustache. His voice booms as he straightens and says “You wanna tell me what the hell happened here? Did a naked woman really run across No Man’s Land dodging bullets? Because if not, then half these boys belong in the nuthouse back home!”

Not missing a beat, and with a straight face, Sammy corrects him “Of course not! She was wearing boots!”

Before the Commander’s head explodes, Steve cuts in “Sir, we actually came here to ask your permission to search the German’s stock for a timer. We’ve become aware of a new threat and are going to try to neutralize it, but we’re a little low on supplies.”

The Commander shakes his head and sips from his canteen. “You can look through anything we haven’t requisitioned yet, but I have final approval on removing anything you find” 

Sammy bows and clasps the Commander’s hands “My friends and I wish for many blessings to fall upon you, sir!” The Commander yanks his hand back and points a rather exasperated look at Sammy.

After over an hour of searching through supplies - grenades, machine gun belts, gun clips, rations, boots, helmets - Chief triumphantly saunters up to Steve. “As requested, one timer for a bomb”

The Commander seems impressed that they only want the timer, after everything else they’ve seen and quickly grants them permission to take it. “What exactly are you going to need this for?” He asks.

“This timer is gonna end the war, and save thousands of lives!” Steve throws over his shoulder with a laugh as they ascend the ladders to dozens of pairs of wide eyes.

They return to Veld quickly, and it’s like a ghost town. Only a few of the villagers remain, loading carts and trucks. Diana and Charlie are outside the inn across from Cafe Buvette with several horses. “See what the villagers gave us lads! A wee bit of luck I’ll say!” Charlie call out to them as he’s inspecting a bridle. 

“A gracious gift” Chief acknowledges.

“Any luck at the trenches?” Charlie wonders.

“We found what we were looking for” Chief assures him.

“And now I need to find that uniform, and some coats for you boys” Steve tells them “We still need to get on that base”

As the guys head over to the last small group of village men loading up a cart, Steve takes Diana’s hand and leads her away. “So you took this all pretty well. Does this kind of thing happen often?” Steve asks with a smile, trying to lighten the mood a little.

“That depends on what really happened. Prophetic dreams are not unheard of. Chronos is dead, and I’m not sure who else would have the power to meddle in his domain. Either way, I believe you.”

“Diana,” Steve bows his head and shakes it. “That’s not fair at all. I didn’t believe you about Ares! I should have, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Not that it matters now. Believing in something after you see it doesn’t really count. I should have trusted you.”

“I do find it strange that you think I would mislead you about Ares. Did you doubt he would be here, or that I would find him?”

“Diana, I didn’t believe he existed! Not until I saw him. I knew it was him because no human could…” He breaks off, staring into the distance. He had seen two people floating in the sky! That certainly tends to make one reevaluate their beliefs.

“Why would you not believe he existed? Did you think he died in the war as well?”

Steve sighs as he removes a uniform coat from a German. “We - humans I mean - don’t believe any of those stories are real. The gods you take as fact, we think are fairytales. Entertainment. No one believes they are real anymore. And which war are you talking about?” 

Diana looks at him like he is crazy. Like he’s literally just escaped an insane asylum! “Who do you think created you? Who do you think corrupted your hearts? How can you not know your own gods?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never really been a history buff. But somewhere along the line, people stopped believing, and the stories got lost or changed, and new stories sprung up - ones that people believe more so than the old ones. We figure that civilizations that died out long ago, and weren’t as advanced as us, must have made up crazy stories to explain things they couldn’t understand. Like the sun and moon and stars and ocean tides, stuff like that. So basically we just think we are smarter.” He has 2 coats now that will fit Charlie and Sammy fine, but Chief will be a little harder.

“Would you like to hear the truth?” She asks him.

“Of course”

“Long ago, when time was new, and all of history was still a dream, the gods ruled the Earth. Zeus king among them. Zeus created beings over which the gods would rule, beings born in his image. Fair and good, strong and passionate. He called his creation man, and mankind was good. But Zeus’ son grew envious of mankind, and sought to corrupt his father’s creation. This was Ares, the god of war. Ares poisoned men’s hearts with jealousy and suspicion. He turned them against one another and war ravaged the Earth. So the gods created us, the Amazons, to influence men’s hearts with love and restore peace to the Earth. And for a brief time there was peace, but it did not last. My mother, Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, led a revolt that freed them all from enslavement. When Zeus led the gods to their defense, Ares killed them one by one, until only Zeus himself remained. Zeus used the last of his power to stop Ares, striking such a blow, the god of war was forced to retreat. But Zeus knew that one day Ares might return to finish his mission. An endless war, where mankind would finally destroy themselves, and us with them. So Zeus left us a weapon, one powerful enough to kill a god. With his dying breath, Zeus created the Island of Themyscira to hide us from the outside world, somewhere Ares could not find us. And all had been quiet ever since. Until the Germans came.”

Until I came, Steve thought. “That story doesn’t make sense. There are missing pieces!”

She arched her brow at him.

“If you were created to restore peace through love, why are you such skilled warriors? What was this enslavement your mother freed you all from? If Zeus used the last of his power on Ares, how could he create the Island? And if you stay hidden, with no contact, how were you supposed to know when Ares came back?”

She furrows her brow at him. These were all valid questions, but she had been just a child when she heard the story, and she had never thought of them before. “Well, the Amazons were not always warriors. That came later. I assume the enslavement was the new war man was making. War enslaves the heart and mind, just as it can enslave a body.”

“Weren’t you there for all of this?” He asks her, trying not to wonder how old she actually is while he pulls on his own German Officer’s coat.

“No, I was made later. On the Island. I grew up there.” She smiles to herself. And Steve adds, breathe life into clay baby, to the list of things Zeus did after using the last of his power to stop Ares.

“The sword is the weapon that can kill a god?” He remembered that from the boat. She’d said only an Amazon could defeat Ares with that sword. “What makes it special?”

“It was made by Zeus himself, instead of Hephaestus. It is imbued with Zeus’ power”

“But if he made a weapon specifically to kill Ares, and gave it to you for that purpose, then why didn’t the rest of the Amazons come with us?” There are more holes in this story than in the plane he’d crashed in. “And if the Island had been hidden for all that time, how did I get through? How has no one else gotten through in all the time you’ve been there? Surely there’s plenty of boats and planes traveling that area now. And how did you know that I was there?”

“You ask a lot of questions!”

“I’m a spy. Besides lying, we are good at gathering information, and making sense of that information.”

“I told my mother Ares was responsible for this, but she did not believe me. She believed man had done this without Ares. She refused to deploy the army to fight your war. I disagreed. And so did Antiope. As she died, she told me that the time had come, that I must take the Godkiller. As to how I found you, that was coincidence. I had left a training session to be alone and I was on the cliff when I heard the buzzing sound. I looked up and I saw you punch through the barrier and fall into the sea.”

“So there are no paintings or statues of Ares? You don’t know what he looks like? Then how were you supposed to find him? How would you know him when you see him?”

“I did not know what he looked like. But I know him because he is causing this war and pain and devastation. He is trying to keep it going. The gas is the perfect way to keep man fighting. Ludendorff is Ares, it’s the only thing that makes sense.” 

Steve sighs, “Diana, I don’t think Ludendorff is Ares. Or if he is, then whatever Ares did to mankind is permanent. Because I know you killed Ludendorff, I saw his body with the sword clean through it, and nothing changed! The war kept going, the soldiers kept loading those bombs!” He holds his breath for her response.

“Steve that makes no sense! You kill the god of war, you stop war!” She shakes her head, squeezing her eyes shut “I don’t understand” she whispers, and it sounds so lost. All Steve can do is take her hand in his and caress his thumb over her knuckles.

“Diana, people are more complicated than just good and evil. And sometimes evil people can lead normal people into doing things they wouldn’t normally have done. Evil is good at hiding, disguising itself. Good people can be swept up by forces they don’t see clearly until it’s too late.” He hopes that maybe by revealing the truth in layers, without the horror of the bombed out village, he can spare her some of the soul searing pain he’d seen on her face before. He wishes he could be angry with Hippolyta for not doing this herself a long time ago, but he can’t. He would protect her from this pain too if he could. Hippolyta thought she could. Thought they were safe behind that barrier. He wishes they had been.

“My mother tried to warn me, I think. She told me that men are easily corrupted, that there was much I did not yet understand. She told me that the world of men do not deserve our help. Maybe she was right?”

“She was. About all of it. But I don’t believe it matters whether we deserve you or not. What matters is what you believe in. And I’ve seen what you believe in Diana, and we don’t deserve any of it, but we need it so desperately! You inspire everyone around you to be better than they are. You are a true Amazon, you are influencing us with everything good!”

He can see the wheels turning in her mind and he leaves her to it as they approach the fountain again. He hands the boys their uniform coats - Chief’s is a tight fit, and a bit short, and leads Diana to her horse. They mount up and begin the trek to the airbase. By his estimation, they should arrive shortly before dusk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -please be gentle, the timeline is a bit off because I'm cutting out the gala and the return to gassed-out Veld, but it still needs to be dark at the base because Ludendorff leaves High Command after the bombing at dusk.


	3. Chapter 3

Luckily security on the base was minimal so deep into the heart of German occupied territory. Most of the activity seemed to be centered in the main hangar. It was the largest building by far and was bustling with activity. Unfortunately, Steve knew exactly what kind of activity.

“Okay boys, we need to get us some gas masks so we can move around freely” Steve told them.

“What about me?” Diana asked 

He imagines, despite all her training, she’s not used to taking orders. He’s beginning to realize that maybe she shouldn’t take orders, not usually, and not from him. One of the reasons it had all gone wrong last time is because they didn’t do a good job of listening to one another. Both so convinced they were right, both trying so hard to complete their own missions and getting the other to go along. If they had cooperated as a team, maybe it could have worked out differently. 

“Well, I’d like to avoid a fight right now if possible. We can move around pretty freely in the masks, and Ludendorff will be here soon enough. What do you think about staying hidden here and keeping watch for him?” 

“Alright, but I will keep watch for you too. If you need help, I will come to you” She says. He smiles and gives her hand a squeeze.

Charlie has positioned himself to scope out the base with his rifle sight. He’s sweeping back and forth, up and down, one eye squinted and finger on the trigger. “I see a route into that smaller hanger to the left there. There’s just one guard, but I can’t see what supplies there are”

“One mask is better than none to start with. We’ll go in, take him quietly, and take the rest as it comes.” The boys nod and they inch their way around to the path Charlie indicated. Steve glances back at Diana, mouths I love you, and gives a reassuring smile. She does the same but the worry is clear in her eyes.

Steve is worried too. This is where they part ways for the remainder of the battles to come. He will not be there to give her a pep talk on the tower when her resolve waivers. This time she will have to struggle with her emotions alone. She’s so strong, but so unprepared for this world and it’s cruel people. All she’s ever known is love, and he wishes it had stayed that way. But if he makes it out alive this time, like he plans to, he will show her love and joy again. 

They make it to the hanger and find the lone guard smoking, rifle slung over his shoulder, and it’s a simple matter for Chief to come up behind the shorter man and wrap his forearm around the man’s neck until he’s laid out flat on the ground. Steve takes the mask off him and begins looking through the supplies until he comes to a crate loaded with gas masks. They put the masks on walk out of the smaller hanger like they belong on this base. No one thinks twice about them. 

They insinuate themselves into the commotion happening all around. Steve boards the plane and begins inspecting the bomb racks, looking for a hiding spot for the bomb with the timer. It needs to be the perfect spot, completely concealed from view or accidental discovery. An untold number of lives depends on where he puts this bomb. As he’s searching, other German soldiers on the ground below the cargo door are handing the offending bombs to him to place on the racks.

Satisfied that he’s finally found the perfect spot for the bomb, he now ponders the timer. A glance at his watch gives him an estimate of the time left until the explosion. Of course this pilot won’t be purposely pushing the plane into a steep climb , so he has to take into account approximately fifteen minutes for the plane to naturally reach it’s maximum altitude. He decides to play it safe and overestimate it. If he’s wrong the plane will be out over the water anyway!

He sets the timer, hides the bomb and goes back to loading the plane. He can see that Sammy is one of the “Germans” helping to load the plane but he doesn’t see Chief or Charlie. When the plane is full he calmly climbs down through the cargo door and he and Sammy stride off towards the large main hangar. It still needs to be destroyed.

But a few steps away from the plane, it happens - the blinding white explosion on the tower. Chaos ensues as the Germans scramble to get the plane off the ground while trying to find out where the attack is coming from. Steve and Sammy run towards a group of crates as the other two guys join them. Another smaller explosion rings out and the guys all dive behind the crates.

Charlie aims his sight toward the commotion, but there’s no need. Everyone can see plain as day, two people floating in the sky above a giant chunk of Earth and asphalt.

“Oh my god! What’r we goin’ t’do?” Charlie manages with eyes the size of dinner plates.

“There’s nothing we can do. Diana can handle him. But we still need to destroy that hangar!” 

They put their masks back on and head back to the largest building. It doesn’t matter anymore that they are running, the entire base looks like a disrupted ant hive. They make it into the main hangar and Steve immediately starts rifling through whatever papers he can find. He knows the other guys are planting charges and pouring fuel down, but some habits are ingrained. Outside the hangar he can hear the horrific crashes, twisting metal, and roaring wind. His stomach feels about the same as he imagines those sounds would feel. He gives his head a shake and tucks several scraps of paper into his coat pockets, grabs a couple wads of paper out of the trash can and heads for the door. The guys lead the way and he hears the lighter drop on the ground behind him a split second before a force pushes him forward and he stumbles a bit.

He takes in the sight outside. Utter destruction. The asphalt is shredded in places, vehicles overturned, broken slats of wood lying scattered about. Looks like a tornado hit while they were inside. He glances over and his heart stops as he sees Ares, now in full body armour and spiked helmet, on top of another hangar holding Diana by her neck. It lasts only a second before he tosses her like a ragdoll and she hits the pavement, rolls, skids and finally flips herself upright to brace for the next attack. As Ares comes closer she launches herself up again but he’s waving his arms like a demonic conductor and two metal treads rip themselves off a tank and fly towards Diana. She throws a punch, but is quickly wrapped from shoulder to calf in the metal and then slammed down onto the ground. The asphalt craters under her, crumbling and sending fissures outwards. She’s struggling against the bondage, but it’s a little more desperate than he’s ever seen her before. Ares is hovering in the sky above her, his hand out, squeezing nothing but somehow managing to tighten the metal bands around Diana.

“It is futile to imagine you can win. Give up Diana”

Throwing oneself right into the middle of an epic battle between two superpowered mythical beings is just about the stupidest thing any mere human could ever think of doing. But he sees the look on Diana’s face, and he knows that look. It’s the face that comes with the knowledge that you are in over your head, that you are completely unprepared for what you’ve found yourself facing, that your best isn’t good enough after all. He’s seen that face on others, and he’s sure he’s made that face himself once or twice. Sometimes this conclusion is warranted, sometimes not. He’s sure in Diana’s case that it’s not!

And so this is how he finds himself jumping to his feet, darting out from behind the safety of cover, running toward Diana. He screams, trying to be heard over the cacophony all around them “Diana you can do this, you’re stronger than this!”

Her eyes sharpen, widen for a second, as if the words are important, familiar. He’s never said them to her, and perhaps later he would imagine a young Diana, swinging her sword at an Amazon, missing her mark, and being told to try harder, that she is stronger than that. But he doesn’t have time in that moment because Ares whips his head to the side, eyes landing on Steve, and Steve freezes in place, halfway between cover and Diana.

“I will destroy them Diana, even without your help, and I’ll start with your Captain Trevor! You can watch him die first, and know that they will all follow!” Ares booms, taunting her from his position in the sky, pointing an open palm right at Steve’s body.

This is not at all what Steve wanted, he’d tried to spare her having to watch him die. She lets out a gut wrenching wail, flailing against her bonds. Suddenly she throws her arms out to both sides and a great burst of golden light swirls out from her as she catapults upright, flinging the tank treads like cloth. Steve is knocked backwards, off his feet. He hits the ground hard and rolls. The guys shoot out from the crates, much closer now, and pull and yank him back behind their wall of cover.

Diana launches herself at Ares, knocks him down and rains punches onto his helmeted face. He punches her, knocking her into a tank. With a wave of his hand he rolls a truck and out pours Dr. Maru. She rolls across the ground and lands at Diana’s feet.

“Look at her and tell me I’m wrong about them. She is the perfect example of these humans, and unworthy of your sympathy in every way.” Diana hoists the tank at her side above her head, holding it directly over Dr. Maru as Ares continues his assault, trying to chip away at who Diana is, what she stands for. “Destroy her Diana, you know she deserves it, they all do. Do it!”

Time seems to suspend itself as Steve watches Diana’s face, replaying all the horrors she’s seen, and the ones he’s only told her about. She literally holds the fate of one of the most evil human beings on the plant in her hands right now. But as he watches, something changes. She closes her eyes and her face softens, she smiles. “You’re wrong about them” She tells Ares and throws the tank away like a passed over toy, walking toward him. “They’re everything you say, but so much more”

This, apparently, is not the conclusion Ares was hoping for because he bellows as a dozen spear shaped projectiles materialize in his hands and around his body. He is suddenly flying toward Diana, with all those projectiles keeping pace. But as they get closer they seem to explode in golden sparks against an invisible barrier in front of her. Then she braces herself and crosses her arms in front of her. A golden aura emanates from her bracers, tendrils of it billowing forward like smoke, and then she pushes it out as she throws her arms open and Ares is thrown backwards into the air. He slams into a truck, bounces on the ground and rolls, losing his helmet. 

He hears the sharp intake of breath next to him because no, Ares hadn’t been Ludendorff at all. He had been something far worse. Sir Patrick Morgan, strongest purveyor of peace in the British cabinet. Sir Patrick had funded this little mission himself. He had given them money and wished them well. As a god, had he known who Diana was all along? Steve suspects he had, and that they had all been played quite well - to what end, he didn’t know, but surely it was nothing good.

“They do not deserve your protection!” He shouts at her as he stands. He raises his hand to the sky and to Steve’s utter shock and horror, lightning strikes his hand and forms an actual bolt that he holds. Like a painting. A painting of Zeus. Something that should be impossible, even among all the impossible things that have happened in the last few days, this definitely tops the list. And then Ares throws the bolt at Diana and Steve wants to scream, he really does, but when he opens his mouth nothing comes out.

“It’s not about deserve,” Diana tells him as the bolt strikes the arms she raises, crossed, in front of her and directs it away, “it’s about what you believe” She looks down at her bracers, which seem to have retained the very lightning meant to be used against her, “and I believe in love.”

She’s walking towards Ares, who is clearly not impressed with this revelation. “Then I will destroy you!” Ares declares as he points both arms heavenward and thick ropes of blazing blue-white lightning envelope his arms, but unlike last time this is no single strike. It’s a sustained absorption, lasting over 10 agonizing seconds. Ares then directs both lightning charged arms at Diana who can only cross her bracers in front of her as she is shoved back several feet by the sheer force of the energy directed at her. When the last of the lightning has left Ares, Diana straightens, with swirls of lightning surrounding her whole body. She looks down at it for a moment before lifting her head to face Ares. “Goodbye brother” and then she’s flying towards him, she kicks off and hovers above him. She closes her eyes, crosses her bracers and directs the thickest column of lightning yet right into his chest. Steve can see it go right through, can even see the moment of shock on Ares face, before he feels the concussive tremor, then hears the boom. 

The crates burst and he and the guys are thrown back as debris rains down on them. It’s disorienting, at first. There’s dust in the air, coughing, and his whole body is sore. Sammy is up first, sliding a piece of metal siding off himself. He helps Charlie up and together they start pulling apart the cage of material that still surrounds Steve and Chief. They stand, stunned as they turn toward the blast. Diana is there, looking a bit stunned also, but otherwise okay. Steve runs to her. Well he tries, but it’s really more half a run, half a limp. Damn. 

She sees him and meets him halfway. He takes her face in his hands and presses his forehead to hers. He’s smiling and crying at the same time and he thinks it’s about the dumbest thing ever, but doesn’t much care. “Diana, you did it! You did it. I knew you could” He pulls her in, wrapping her in him, all of him “and don’t you dare say ‘we did’” he teases.

He pulls back to look at her, holding her shoulders because why would he ever let go of her? There are tears in her eyes, eyes that are still dilated in shock, face set somewhere between shock, horror, disappointment and disbelief. He knows the feeling. “Are you alright?” She nods and casts her eyes downward, but doesn’t answer so he just holds her again.

Another boom sounds then, faint and distant. He looks up to see a tiny orange sphere of light bloom far off in the distant sky. He laughs as more tears pour onto his cheeks. He feels Diana tighten her hold on him and her breath hitch. She curls her fingers, grabbing fistfulls of wool coat between them. He couldn’t say which of them is trembling, or maybe it’s both, either way it’s the best kind of tremble he’s ever felt!

He hears someone running up to them and tucks her face into the bulky shoulder of his jacket as he angles himself to talk without exposing her face. Sammy is out of breath as he reaches them and puts his hand on Steve’s other shoulder. They just look at each other for a moment before Sammy nods at Diana in question. But Steve ignores that question. “Can we find a car or something to get out of here? I don’t think any of us are up for horseback right now.”

Sammy nods affirmative “Chief thinks he saw one a ways down from the west gate, he’s gone to check”

Diana pulls her head up and seems to have settled a bit more into herself. “I need to get my shield”

But Sammy is putting his hand up before she finishes “Charlie went to get your things. Here” he says as he slips off his coat and holds it open for her. She works out what she’s supposed to do quickly, and allows Sammy to assist her into the coat. Once she’s wrapped up against the chill of shock, Steve maneuvers to her side, puts his arm around her waist and they start walking to the other side of the base.

The atmosphere is different now. Everyone seems a bit stunned, but relieved. It’s palpable and Steve wonders if maybe Diana had been right all along. You kill the god of war, you stop the war! He has a million questions about a million different things, but right now one is foremost in his mind. Why did she call Ares ‘brother’? He glances at Diana but decides she’s not in any condition to answer, and maybe he’s not in any condition to hear the answer. Not right now. He smiles again as he realizes - they have time!


End file.
